Question 38 from UPSC CSE 2018 - Modern History

Question

Which one of the following statements does not apply to the system of Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Lord Wellesley?

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: C. To secure a fixed income for the Company

Strategy: Identify the core objectives of the Subsidiary Alliance: military dominance, paramountcy, and strategic security. Option C stands out because securing a fixed income for the Company is not inherent to the system's design — it was primarily about military control and political supremacy, not assured revenue.

Key Info: The Subsidiary Alliance was a diplomatic and military arrangement introduced by Lord Wellesley, Governor-General of India (1798–1805). Its main features were:

- Indian rulers were compelled to accept British troops (subsidiary forces) within their territory and disband their own armies. 
- The rulers bore the cost of these British forces, often surrendering territory if unable to pay, but this was not a system designed to secure the Company a fixed, regular income—it was a method of political and military control. 
- The alliance aimed to establish British paramountcy over Indian princely states, as states accepting it effectively lost sovereignty in defense and foreign affairs. 
- The rationale also included keeping India "safe from Napoleonic danger," using the European threat as a pretext for expansion and consolidation. 
- The system forced clients to turn to the British for internal and external security, ensuring their strategic subservience, making options A, B, and D reflect the actual intent and operation of the system. 
- There was no guaranteed, fixed income mechanism; payments or cession of territory were penalties or means to cover military expenses, not a revenue model for the Company.
- Early adopters included Hyderabad (1798), followed by Awadh, Mysore, Tanjore, and others.
- The policy was instrumental in subjugating Indian states and extending British hegemony.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option A: To maintain a large standing army at other's expense

IASCODEX · Answer

Option B: To keep India safe from Napoleonic danger

IASCODEX · Answer

Option D: To establish British paramountcy over the Indian States